Pipe-ball.



R. D. CHAPMAN.

SEPT. 7, 1911.

BAL

LED

P. CHRYSTB &'

PIPE

TmN n APPLICA latented Mar. 25, 1913.

` i1/gagnes: Y

f NITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

PERCIVAL CRYSTIE AND RICHARD A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

D. CHAPMAN, or HIGH BRIDGE, NEW JERSEY,

OF HIGH BRIDGE, NEW JERSEY,

PIPE-BALL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application led September?, 1911. Serial No. 648,196. l

Patented Mar. 2,5, 1,913.

To will whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, PERCIVAL CHRYsTIEA and RICHARD D. CHAPMAN, citizens of the Unit-ed States, residing at High Bridge, in the county of Hunterdon and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pipe-Balls, of .which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pipe balls, sometimes called rolling plugs orwelding balls,

adapted for use in the formation of tubes or' with a-cap or shell of some suitable tough material, such for instance vas manganese steel, which will receive the 'wear and so prolong the longevity of the ball that the same may be repeatedly used Iin the manufacture of tubes and pipes, it being estimated that a ball constructed in the manner,l

herein disclosed may be utilized for the manufacture of from forty to four or five hundred pipes. These balls act as a man.- drel for the tube or pipe when the same'is passed between the welding rolls, the pipe or tube passing over the ball so as to facilitate the welding of the edges of the pipe provided the pipe is made from sheet metal, or to facilitate the rollingof theI billet into shape when the pipe or tube is made from a steel billet.

In the drawings accompanying 'and forming part of this specification, gure llillustrates a sectional view of thisrgi'iproved ball;

Fig. 2 is a viewillustrating in a general way the manner in which the same 1s used.; and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the ball with a part thereof broken away.

Similar characters of" reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures of the drawing.

This improved ball comprises a body or 811er 2 suitably cored for the reception of the rod 3 which is usually used for holding the same in place adjacent'to the rolls 4 usually used for either welding the tube or pipe when the same is formed from sheet metal or for rolling the bored billet into shape when. the pipe or tube is formed from a steel billet. lThe ball is usually made of the shape shown, and the filler or body is provided with a cap or shell 5 of some suitable tough material, as for instance manganese steel.. This cap in the present instance is drawn or pressed into shape so as to closely fit'the ball.

By forming the ball in the manner described the working surface thereof may be made of a comparatively thin sheet of manganese steel which is not only inexpensive but is comparatively easy to form, .and by forming this cap or cover in the manner described it does not have to, be ground as would be the case if the entire ball were formed of this kind of metal, which is an expensive operation. Moreover, it is immaterial whether the body or filler has blow holes in it or not, since by providing the cap the tube does not come into contact with an imperfect surface as has been the case heretofore when cast iron balls havebeen used. As is .well known, a ball which is cast is liable to have blow holes, which tend t-o pick up any little particles of scale from the tube, so that during the manufacture ofthe tube both the ball and the tube frequently become scored, which is a very material disadvan. tage in the manufacture of tubes. present improvement, however, as stated, it is immaterial whether the body or ller` has blowholes in it or not, since such body or filler does not comein contact with the tube, as the cap or shell not. only protects the-tube in the manner stated, but it also forms a tou h hard surface having considerable longevity, and when worn out the same body or filler can be again used with a new cap or shell. In other words, by the present vim-A provement the relatively thin cap of tough material or steel is readily replaceable, so that when one cap is worn out another cap may bereadily replaced upon thesame cast iron body.

We claim Aas our invention:

' 1. A pipe ball comprising a body or filler, and a cap covering the end of said body and extendingifromv end to end thereof.

By the- 2. A pipe ball comprising a body or filler of one material, and a cap of tough steel covering the end of the body and extending from end to end thereof.

3. A pipe ball comprising a cast metal body, and a cap of manganese steel thereon covering .one end thereof and extending from such covered end toward the opposite end.

4. A pipe ballY comprising a cast metal body having a drawn or compressed cap of tough steel located thereon and covering one end of the body and extending from the covered end toward the opposite end.

5. A pipe ball comprising a metal body having a removable relatively thin drawn or compressed manganese steel cap located thereon and covering .one end of the body and extending therefrom toward the opposite end.

6. A pipe ball comprising a conically shaped bod or fillerv of cast metal, and a relatively thi compressed manganese steel cap thereon inclosing one en d of said body. y

Signed at High Bridge, Hunterdon county, N. J., this 15th day of August, 1911.

PERCIVAL CHRYSTIE. RICHARD D. CHAPMAN. Witnesses:

E. B. Goss, E. F. CoNNoLLY.

n conically shaped drawn 01"* Y 

